The Other Side of the Mountain
by CJfaninSTL
Summary: The morgue staffers have survived the plane crash that left them stranded high on a mountain top.  Moments after Jordan tells Woody her feelings for him, helicopters arrive.  This story picks up there and gives the readers a few more scenes.
1. Chapter 1: Reunited

**The Other Side of the Mountain**

_Disclaimer:I am in no way affiliated with Crossing Jordan or its characters. This story if for entertainment purposes only. It is my way of adding on to what I felt was an unfinished story. RIP CJ!_

**The helicopters have landed on the mountainside. The survivors are watching as the rescuers carefully place Dr. Garret Macy on a stretcher, and then into the first of the two helicopters.**

"I'm going with him," Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh informed the rescue workers.

"Okay. That's two. We only have room for one more of you in this chopper because of the stretcher. Are there any volunteers?" The young man looked around at the remaining survivors, waiting for their answer. Nigel Townsend, Woody Hoyt, Kate Switzer, and Mahesh "Bug" Vijayaraghavensatanaryanamurthy looked at each other, but no one spoke at first until Nigel final stepped forward.

"You go, Bug. Lily and Madelyn are waiting." Nigel turned to walk away but Bug stopped him as he placed his hand on Nigel's left shoulder.

"No, Nige. You go with Dr. Macy and Jordan. You need to get that arm looked at and this helicopter will get you there the quickest."

"Bug…"

"Tell Lily that I'm okay and I will be there soon."  
"You tell her yourself. I'll take the next one." Nigel argued before Kate stepped in between them.

"Oh just get on the damn thing before we all freeze to death waiting for you to decide. Beside, the faster you get on, the faster Macy gets to the hospital." Without another word, Nigel reluctantly climbed into the helicopter. Bug gave Jordan a quick hug and nodded in Macy's direction as he turned and headed back to the plane wreckage.

"Do us all a favor and get them there in no worse than the shape they're currently in," Kate said sternly to the rescue workers. Woody, standing behind her, just rolled his eyes before turning his attention to Jordan.

"He'll be fine. They got here in time." He told her softly. His smile was so warm and reassuring as he rubbed Jordan's arm with his own hand. Jordan could only manage a weak smile as she fought back tears. She touched his cheek with her hand.

"I'll see you at the hospital." She said as she turned and climbed into the helicopter. Two of the rescue workers climbed in behind her and quickly shut the door. Kate and Woody stood side-by-side, joined a few moments later by Bug, and watched the chopper until it disappeared from their view.

Woody, Kate and Bug walked around the wreckage site.

"Search and rescue is sending out another chopper for all the deceased. Grab only what you need from the wreckage and climb into the helicopter so we can get going." A female rescue worker told the group. Bug grabbed the picture of Carter from his the body of the young boy's father and placed is safely in his coat pocket, alongside Madelyn's toy. Kate picked up all that she could carry of the computer equipment. Woody's eyes scanned the area, but finding nothing he wanted, he slowly turned and made the walk to the remaining rescue helicopter and climbed aboard, followed by Bug, Kate, and the other rescue workers, who closed the door and started them on their journey to the hospital.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Dr. Macy was rushed into the operating room. The Doctors practically had to pry Jordan's hand from that of her friend. She watched as the Doctors wheeled him through the double doors and out of sight. Nigel placed his uninjured arm around Jordan's shoulder. Just then, the elevator doors opened and Lily, pushing a sleeping Madelyn in a stroller, rushed into the waiting room.

"Jordan!...Nigel!" She exclaimed as she threw her arms around her friends in a three way hug.

"You're okay?" She asked.

"Aside from this badly broken one protruding through my skin, I'm perfect, love." Nigel said. Lily, obviously not in the mood for his humor, brushed the comment aside.

"Where's Bug?" She asked frantically.

"He's on his way. He's fine Lily. There's hardly a scratch on him. He's coming in on the next helicopter along with Woody and Kate. They're all okay." Jordan assured her friend.

"Garret?"

"There's some internal bleeding but he's hanging in there. He's being worked on now. He'll have to have surgery. We should know more in a little while." At that moment two doctors approached the trio.

"You…come with me." A tall, rather beautiful female doctor said, pointing at Nigel as she led him down the hall. Nigel raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, ma'am!" he said with a wide smile and a quick wink at Jordan and Lily as he followed her down the corridor. Lily and Jordan just shook their heads, allowing themselves a slight smile.

"You are with me." The second doctor, a young, black male informed her.

"What for?" Jordan asked, her voice rising ever so slightly.

"Dr. Cavanaugh, you were in a plane crash and exposed to below freezing temperatures for…"

"Tell me something I don't know," Jordan, obviously annoyed, began, but Lily cut her off quickly.

"Jordan, go get checked out. I'll wait her for word on Garret." Reluctantly Jordan followed the doctor into a room at the end of the hall. The doctor checked her over thoroughly.

"You seem to be fine, but given your medical history with your recent brain surgery, I would like to admit you for observation, just for one night."

"No way am I staying here overnight!" Jordan exclaimed. "Not while my friend is having major surgery." She attempted to leave but the doctor stepped in front of her.

"Listen, visiting hours are over anyway. You stay here under observation and you get a nice, cozy bed, right down the hall from your friends. Dr. Macy has a long night of surgery ahead of him anyway. We won't know anything for several hours. When the rest of your friends arrive in the other helicopter, I'll see what I can do about sneaking them in here to see you." He gave her a quick wink as Jordan looked at him skeptically.

"You'll let me know when Garret is out of surgery?"

"You bet. Now get some rest. If you need anything, just hit the call button by the bed." The doctor turned and left the room. Jordan grumbled in defeat as she climbed into bed.

Jordan fought back against the overwhelming feeling of exhaustion that was invading her body, but it was nose use. She began to drift off to sleep when she sensed that she was no longer alone in her room. Her eyes flew open and quickly found Woody standing just inside the door.

"Before you ask, no word on Dr. Macy just yet," were the first words out of his mouth to which Jordan could only nod.

"Sit," Jordan told him, she said, motioning him with her head. Woody pulled a chair next to her bed. "Listen, Woody, when I told you…well…I…you know…I didn't think we were going to make…" Jordan began, but Woody quickly interrupted.

"You are NOT taking it back, Jordan Cavanaugh! I waited six years to hear that and I heard it. You said you loved me. Don't even think about taking it back!" He had such a serious look on his face that Jordan didn't say anything else, she just put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him to her for what turned out to be a rather lengthy and passionate kiss, a kiss that momentarily left Woody speechless.

"I wasn't going to take it back. I just wanted to say again that I wasn't expecting anything. It was just time for me to say it. I did mean it." She said.

"Look Jordan," Woody began when he finally found his voice, "When I first came to this town and met you, I was attracted to your looks because you are hot. Then I learned how complicated you are, which I will admit, turned me on. Then I saw you as a friend. A hot friend, but still a friend none the less. Soon after, I got to know you and you got to know me better than anyone else in the world. Do you remember sitting on the couch with me after my knucklehead brother, Calvin, left town?" Jordan nodded as Woody continued, looking deep into her eyes, "You told me that Calvin wasn't the only thing I had in this world. That right there was the moment that I fell in love with you. You are the most important part of my life."

"I love you, Woody," was all Jordan could say as her lower lip quivered and she fought to hold back the tears.

"Yeah, you already told me that." Woody said with a smile. Jordan leaned in to kiss him, but just before their lips met, he pulled back slightly, "and I still think you're hot, even after getting knocked around in a plane crash." He smiled at her and leaned forward for that kiss, but this time Jordan pulled back slightly.

"Just remember who said it first!"

"Jordan?" Woody whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Shut-up." Their lips met again for a long tender kiss. When it was over, Woody crawled in next to Jordan in the hospital bed and just held her tight as the two drifted off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Waiting

"You're all set, Dr. Townsend," the doctor who had fixed up Nigel's injured arm told him.

"It's Nigel, love, call me Nigel. Or if you prefer, Nige. I'm not a picky," Nigel said, not hiding the fact that he was interested in the doctor.

"Or you can call him a twit," a voice belonging to Kate Switzer said from the doorway. The doctor just smiled and excused herself from the room.

"Way to go Kate, you chased away my possible soul mate!" he paused for effect before adding "So…I see you guys made it in safely."

"Yeah, lucky you. You're stuck with me. Any word on Dr. Macy?"

"Not yet. He's still in surgery. Probably will be for awhile so I don't assume we'll hear anything before morning. He…he'll be fine. He has to be." Nigel and Kate just looked at each other as a worried silence filled the room.

Lily sat in the hospital waiting room watching Madelyn sleep. Finally, just as she though she was about to go crazy waiting for Bug and word on Garret, the elevator doors opened and in walked Bug. Lily slowly stood up and looked at him. As soon as he smiled, she knew what she was seeing was real and she raced to him, throwing her arms around his neck.

"Sorry it took so long to get here. We had a little problem with the flight, but we made it." Were the first words Bug spoke. Lily just buried her face in his neck, not wanting to let. "It's okay, Lily. I'm fine" he said, trying to comfort her.

"Are you really?" Lily asked as she finally let go and stepped back to check him over.

"Yes, I'm completely fine. The EMT's checked me out on the helicopter and gave me a clean bill of health. I was lucky." Bug looked down at the sleeping child before him. He leaned over, stroked Madelyn's cheek with his finger, before kissing her head. "How is she?"

"She's fine. I think she could sense that I was upset because she was a bit fussy….but she's been asleep for awhile. I think she'll be okay now that you're home to put her to bed."

"You and Madelyn were all I could think about while we were up there on that mountain. I just knew I had to get home to you. I love you, Lily." Bug said as he took her hands in his.

"I know you do and I….we…love you too." Lily replied.

"Then will you be my wife?" Bug asked her as he looked deep into her eyes. Before Lily could answer, the elevator doors opened again and in walked Abby Macy. She frantically rushed over to Lily and Bug.

"Where's my father?" she asked, almost begging for an answer.

"Abby! How did you hear about the accident? No one knew how to contact you," Lily asked.

"I heard about the helicopter going down on the news the other day, but didn't hear that my father was on board until this morning. I grabbed the first flight I could to Boston and when I got here, my mom told me that they had recovered the plane and that they brought the survivors here. That's all I know. Is my dad….is he…" she choked back tears, too afraid of what she may hear to finish asking her question. Lily let go of Bug's hands and grabbed Abby's, pulling her over to a chair. As soon as they sat down, she began to explain Garret's condition to his daughter.

"He's alive, Abby, but there was internal bleeding. He is being operated on right now. The doctors promise to give us an update as soon as he is out of surgery but it may be awhile." When Abby could no longer hold back the tears, Lily pulled her into a long, comforting hug.

"Your father was so brave on that mountain," Bug said softly. "He didn't even want us to know that he was hurt because he knew we would worry, but even after we found out, he still helped us solve the case we were sent there to figure out. He is so strong. Stronger than I think any of us realized. He's going to come out of this just fine." Abby looked up, wiped away the tears and nodded.

"Thanks guys. I needed to hear this. I should have been here for him."

"You're hear now and that's all that matters." Lily said as grabbed tightly to Bug's hand wit her own left hand, and Abby's with her right. The three sat in silence for a long while after that, all silently praying for Garret Macy.


	3. Chapter 3: Touch and Go

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Nigel asked as he entered Jordan's hospital room and found Woody in the bed with her, his arms wrapped around the sleeping Jordan.

"Nige, shhhh. She's finally sleeping for the first time in days. Let her sleep," Woody said sternly.

"And how much sleep did you acquire, Woodrow?" Nigel asked in response.

"Probably about as much as you did," Woody said as matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, you're right. Listen, I just came to let you know that the doctors are going to update us on Macy's condition in about ten minutes. Should we wake Jordan?" Nigel asked. Woody started to shake his head but Jordan's interrupted him.

"I'm awake. Where is the update on Garret going to be?" she asked as she slowly sat up alongside Woody.

"In the waiting room down the hall. Abby's got here last night. She's with Bug, Lily and Kate, waiting for the doctor. We'll see you there." Nigel turned and left the room.

"Hey," Woody began with a smile, "how are you feeling?"

"A bit tired, but more worried. What time is it?"

"About six in the morning. You've been asleep for awhile. Should we head on down to the waiting room?" Woody asked as he got out of the bed. Jordan just nodded as Woody held out his hand to help her out of the bed, and together the two walked, still hand-in-hand, down the hall to the waiting room.

"Jordan, it's good to see you." Abby said as the couple entered the room.

"You too, Abby….I just wish it were under better circumstances." Jordan said. At that moment, a doctor dressed in scrubs entered the waiting area.

"Won't you all please have a seat?" he asked. Jordan, still clutching Woody's hand, took a seat next to Kate on the couch and across from Bug, Lily and Abby. Nigel remained standing.

"I'm Doctor Aidan McCourt. I was the head surgeon working on Garret Macy."

"How's my father?" Abby asked frantically.

"He's critical, Ms. Macy. There was more bleeding than we had anticipated in his abdominal cavity. We had to remove his spleen but we managed to repair the other damaged organs. I have to tell you, had he been on that mountain for even fifteen minutes longer, he would not have survived." No one said a word for awhile until finally Jordan, through tears, managed to find her voice.

"But he's going to be okay now, right?"  
"He's in critical condition as I said before. It will be touch and go for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. We are giving him more blood now and have him heavily sedated. He will be unconscious for several more hours. As soon as we move him into recovery, we will let you go in and see him, but only briefly and no more than two of you at a time." The morgue staffers thanked Dr. McCourt as he left the room. The room was silent until Madelyn began to cry. Lily picked her up out of her stroller.

"I need to get Madelyn home. She's going to be getting hungry soon. This just isn't the place for an infant." Bug began to follow her but Lily stopped him. "Bug, I can care for her. Why don't you stay here and wait for word on Garret?" but Bug shook his head.

"I was away from you two long enough. I'm coming home with you."

"Go ahead, Bug. We'll call you if there is any change in Garret's condition," Nigel told his friend. Bug gave his friend a pat on the shoulder and followed Lily to the elevator.

"This waiting is torture." Jordan said

"Hey, I had my spleen taken out remember? And I'm fine. Who needs a spleen anyway!" Woody said, trying to raise the spirits of all his friends. "feel better?" he asked Jordan. She reached up, gave him a quick peck on the lips, then nestled back down into his side, resting her head on his chest.

"No, but thanks for trying."

"So what is this, are you two a couple now?" Kate asked, referring to Woody and Jordan.

"You're still relatively new here, Kate, but I'd have thought you would have picked up on it by now. These two have been a couple for a long time, but they just didn't know it. We all could see it though. In fact, we had a pool going about two years ago as too when they would finally get together." Nigel informed the group.

"You what?" Jordan asked, sitting straight up.

"Oh yeah. Lily figured you'd be an item by December, 2004. Bug wagered early 2005. I figured it be closer to mid year, 2005 but then Woody had to go and get shot which messed that up." Nigel said seriously.

"Yeah, thanks, Nige." Woody said as he rolled his eyes.

"Well at least you're together now and I was still the closest so I win the pool" he noticed the looks he was getting from his friends. "What? There was no money involved, just bragging rights." Woody grabbed a pillow off the couch and tossed it at Nigel, hitting him right in the face. At that moment, a nurse entered the room.

"Ms. Macy?" the nurse asked.

"That's me. Can I see my father now?" Abby asked as she quickly stood up.

"Yes, you can. He's in room 302. Just go straight down this hallway and it's the third door on the right. You have five minutes." Abby nodded as the nurse left, then turned to Jordan. "Jordan, will you come with me?"

"Yeah, or course," she said as she stood and put her arm around Abby's shoulder. The two walked down the hall to room 302. Moments later they entered Garret Macy's room. Abby gasped when she saw all the tubes hooked up to her father.

"Dad!" she cried out as she raced to his bedside. Macy lay still and unresponsive. Jordan went to the other side of the bed and took her friend's hand.

"Hey, Garret," Jordan began. "You don't look so good. That crash really did a number on you, but hey, the rest of us are okay…and….we're all here for you. Bug and Lily had to take Madelyn home, but they'll be back later. The rest of us aren't going anywhere until you get out of this place. Do you want to say anything, Abby?"

"I don't know what to say." She said.

"Just tell him you love him." Jordan said as she smiled at her. Abby nodded.

"I do, dad. I'm sorry I stayed away for so long, but I do love you…." Suddenly, without warning her father began to gasp and made a gurgling sound. Several machines in the room began to beep. "What's wrong? Dad? Jordan, what's happening?"

"Abby, go get the doctor!"

"but…"

"GO!" Jordan yelled and Abby rushed from the room in search of the doctor.


	4. Chapter 4: Setback

Abby suddenly raced from her father's room and into the hall of the hospital, yelling for help. Upon hearing her, Nigel, Kate and Woody raced to their friend's room, unsure of what was happening.

"folks, you are going to have to wait out here," Dr. McCourt informed them as he rushed to Garret Macy's side. A nurse in the room forced Jordan out the door as well.

"Get your hands off me!" Jordan screamed at the nurse who just ignored her. She tried to push past the doctors to get back to Garret's side, but two strong arms belonging to Woody grabbed her from behind and practically carried her back to the waiting room.

"Jordan, let them work on him." Woody said sternly.

"I need to be in there, Woody. Let me go!"

"You can only get in their way. They are the best doctors in this state, if not the country. Give them space to work." Jordan, at an unusual loss for words, just collapsed into tears as Woody helped her to the couch. Nigel lead a distraught Abby to the couch as well and together, the four just sat huddled together as Kate stood outside her boss's hospital room, watching what was unfolding inside.

"So I never got answer," Bug said, his voice slicing through the quite car as the couple, along with Madelyn made their way home.

"I'm sorry Bug. A lot happened in there," Lily replied.

"Yeah, I know. It wasn't the best time for me to ask, Lily, but as I told you, this is our time. I love you and I love Madelyn and I want us to be together forever." He pulled the car into the driveway and parked it, then turned to look at Lily. "I want to build a life with you and Madelyn. I want to give her a baby brother or sister, a part of you and me. I want to give her a big backyard and a play set and a dog. I want to give you and your daughter everything I can. You two are my world." He took her hand in his and looked into her eyes. Lily wiped away a tear that had trickled down her cheek. She took her free hand and placed two fingers on Bugs lips to quite him.

"Yes, Bug. I will marry you. I guess I should say that we, Madelyn and I, will marry you. We love you too." She smiled as Bug just stared at her until finally a he let out a loud cheer, something that surprised her as she had never heard that reaction from him before. She laughed and cried at the same time, just very happy for the first time in a long time. A few minutes later, the family walked arm in arm, with Madelyn safely in Bugs arm, into their living room. Lily fed and put her daughter into bed when Bug's cell phone rang. She could tell by the look on his face that it was serious. He told the caller that he would be right there and hung up.

"What's wrong?" she asked him.

"That was Nigel. Dr. Macy had a set back. He had some sort of seizure. Nige wasn't really sure what happened but…well…I need to go back."

"Of course, Bug, go. Madelyn and I will be fine," she wrapped her arms his waist in a quick hug. "Just call me as soon as you know anything, okay?" Bug nodded and headed back out the door.

"So it was some sort of reaction to the medication?" Jordan was asking Dr. McCourt.

"Yes, he had an allergic reaction to the antibiotics we gave him to reduce his risk of infection. That's what caused the seizure. We have taken him off the medication and he is stable again."

"Thank you, Doctor." Kate said. Dr. McCourt nodded and left.

"There, you see, he's going to be fine." Woody said, not sure if he was trying to convince his friends, or himself.

"I'm going to go call my mom and give her an update," Abby said as she headed outside to use her cell phone. Woody turned to Jordan.

"How about you and I go get some air?" Jordan shook her head

"No, I need to be here for him,"

"You will be. I'm not talking about leaving. Let's just go take a walk outside. Nigel and Kate will call us if there is any change. Please come with me Jordan? You need to step away from this for a minute." Reluctantly, Jordan agreed and followed Woody to the elevator. They took it down to the lobby, and then made their way outside of the hospital. Woody put his arm around Jordan's shoulder as the two walked.

"I don't know what I will do if he doesn't make it." Jordan said as she kept her focus straight ahead.

"Well, luckily for us, that won't be a problem because he's going to be fine." Woody said.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Look, Jordan," Woody said as he turned her to face him. He put both his hands on her face in an effort to get her to look directly into his eyes. "You said it yourself that Garret is the strongest person you know, right? He made through the cold with no food, for God knows how long up there on that mountain, all the while bleeding inside. He didn't survive all that just to die in some hospital. He's going to be fine." Jordan's lower lip quivered but she nodded.

A short time later, Woody and Jordan rejoined Kate, Nigel, and Abby in the waiting room, along with Bug who had arrived a few minutes earlier.

"Any change?" Woody asked.

"No, he's stable, but he's still unconscious. Doc said he might be for awhile because of the sedatives."

"Can we see him?" Jordan asked.

"Not yet because they're still working on changing his meds, but they said we could maybe a half hour or so."

Just then, the elevator doors opened, and in walked a familiar face that none of them expect to see, in particular Jordan.

"Dad?" she called out to the man who stood just a few feet from her.

"Max? What are you doing here?" Woody asked, just as surprised as Jordan was.

"What do you mean, 'what am I doing here?' My daughter was in a plane crash. This is where I need to be…that is, if you want me here?" he said with tears threatening his eyes.

To be continued….


	5. Chapter 5: The Return of Max Cavanaugh

Jordan could hardly believe her eyes. It was the first time she had seen her father in over two years since the time she and Woody had helped him with the Irish mobster, Kahil. She had spoken to him briefly on the phone, but it was the basic pleasantries where they had basically said hello and good-bye, as usual avoiding every other topic that would start yet another argument. She did tell him of her brain surgery, but not until after she was recovered. Now here he was, standing right in front of her eyes, a worried expression on his face. Without another word, Jordan walked over to her father and wrapped her arms around him.

"It's great to see you dad," Jordan said. "It's been a long time."

"Too long," Max Cavanaugh said as he returned her hug. As the two parted, Woody approached the man.

"How's it going Max?" he said as he shook his hand.

"Better now that I can see that my daughter is okay. How are you Woody? And the rest of you? No major damage? You all survived?"

"We all got a bit banged up, Nigel a bit more than the rest of us, but Dr. Macy took the biggest hit. He's still not out of the woods yet, but as I told your daughter, he's going to be fine." Woody answered for the group.

"So, Mr. C, how long you staying in town for, cause you know, Boston just isn't the same without your bar. How's about you give the whole bar tendering thing another stab at it, ey mate?"

"I think those days are over, Nigel, but if I ever decide to open up another bar, you'll be the first to know," Max answered, only half jokingly.

"I need to go give Lily a call to let her know how Dr. Macy is and to check in on Madelyn." Bug said as he excused himself and headed for the payphone.

"Tell Lily I said congrats on the baby. I'm really happy for her…and for you." Max called after him. Bug nodded with a hint of a smile as he turned back around and called home. Max turned back to Jordan. "Can we go find somewhere to talk?" he asked. Jordan nodded.

"Yeah, um…Woody, we'll be in the cafeteria if anything changes with Garret, come find me."

"You bet," Woody said with a reassuring smile as Jordan led her father to the elevator then eventually into the cafeteria. Max bought his daughter a coffee and the two settled into a table on the outside patio just beyond the cafeteria doors.

"So, besides the plane crash, how have you been?" He asked.

"Well," Jordan said with a slight smile, "besides the plane crash, things are good. The job is the same work I love, surrounded by people I love, Lily made me Madelyn's Godmother, so I have a new little baby in my life, the doctors have given me a clean bill of health, although they could not get all of the tumor. They do not feel that it will affect me in anyway, at least not for many years so I'm moving on with my life, getting past all that, so things are looking up. I'll be much better though after I know for sure that Garret is going to be okay."

"Jordan, I'm sorry I wasn't here for you when you were going through your health scare. You should have told me. I would have come."

"That's why I waited until it was all over to tell you dad. I didn't want to worry you when there was nothing you could have done to help me."

"Still, I should have been in that waiting room while you were going through that," Max said with a look of sadness in his eyes.

"It had been a long time since we had seen each other and I didn't want the first time to be with me looking like that. I am glad you're here now though, dad," she said as she took his hand in hers. The two smiled at one another and neither one spoke for a awhile. Max took a sip of his coffee before speaking again.

"So, are there any other changes in your life that I can know about?"

"Well, there is one and it's a good one."

"Don't keep me in suspense, what is it?" Max asked, rather intrigued as a look of joy crossed over his daughters face.

"Just before we were rescued I told Woody how I feel about him," Jordan replied.

"How do you feel about him?"

"I love him; dad and I told him so. For the first time in my life, I truly know what it's like to be in love."

"It's about time you admitted it! I could see the connection between you two from pretty much the beginning."

"I know, but I think we had to go through everything we did in order to have a happy future together. Lord knows we have been through a lot these last five,..six years, in particular the last year and a half, but you know the saying, 'what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger'? That is pretty much how it is with us. I think now we are really ready to take our relationship to the next level."

"Speak of the devil," Max said as he saw Woody approaching them.

"Uh oh, that sounds scary," Woody said, faking a look of panic. "You two talking about me?"

"Only good stuff." Jordan said as she put her arm around Woody's waist.

"I hear you finally got my daughter to admit her feelings for you." Max said

"Yes sir and it only took about six years." Woody said with a laugh.

"All joking aside, I'm really glad for the both of you. A father always prays that his daughter will find someone who loves her as much as she loves him, someone who can make her happy. Jordan has found that with you, Hoyt" He put his hand out to shake Woody's hand.

"Thank you, Max. That means a lot to me." Woody said as he shook his hand before looking at Jordan. "The doctors are going to give us an update on Dr. Macy in about ten minutes. I knew you would want to be there." Jordan nodded.

"I'm going to go get checked in at the hotel," Max said "Call me after you get updated on Macy." Jordan nodded as her father kissed her head and left. Woody and Jordan walked arm and arm to the elevator. As soon as the doors closed behind them, Woody looked at her with a look of puzzlement on his face.

"I gotta say Jordan, I'm a bit surprised that you welcomed Max back to easily. Things have never been easy between you two and he did leave on rocky terms. How come you aren't angry with him?"

"I could be angry with him. I have every right to be, but I'm not. I've grown up a lot these past few months and when I was going through all that with my surgery and then after the crash, it just made me realize that I haven't been living my life like I should. I don't want to be angry. I want to live a full life. I want to be happy and I want my father to be a part of it," she answered softly. Woody smiled without saying a word and leaned over to kiss her lips tenderly.


	6. Chapter 6: Awakening

"The new medicine we put Dr. Macy on has had a dramatic impact on him. All of his organs are functioning as they should be and there does not seem to be any problems with his brain due to the seizure. Once he wakes up and is able to talk, we'll know more as we need to test his vision and verbal skills, but as of now, we have upgraded him from critical and unstable condition to serious. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, we'll be able to upgrade him even more to good condition." Dr. McCourt informed the group in the waiting room. They all let out a big cheer.

"May I go see my father?" Abby asked

"Certainly, Ms. Macy. Go right in. The rest of you may also go and see him if you wish."

"Thank you, Doctor." Kate said.

"Abby, why don't you go first, spend as much alone time with him as you want, and when you're ready, the rest of us will come see him."

"Thanks, guys," Abby Macy told them. "My father is lucky to have all of you in his life."

"We're just as lucky to have him." Jordan said. "Now go see your dad."

Moments later as Abby was in visiting with her father, Lily joined Bug, Kate, Nigel, Woody and Jordan in the waiting room.

"Where's Madelyn?" Bug asked after he had greeted her with a hug.

"Emy offered to watch her for us so that I could be here with you all. I couldn't stay away any longer but I didn't want to make Madelyn be here."

"We are glad you're here." Nigel told her as he hugged her. Bug filled her in on the latest with Garret.

"That's great! That's wonderful. I can't wait to see him."

"Listen, guys, I need to say something." Kate began as she stepped forward.

"Here we go. What is it now, Kate?" Nigel asked, rolling his eyes. Lily elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey!" he exclaimed.

"Let her talk without you adding your two cents worth, Nigel!" Lily said. Kate ignored them and continued.

"I'm not perfect, obviously, but I want you all to know that…well…there is no other group of people that I would rather be stranded on a mountain with than you all. Okay, that's it. I said it. Now go back to what you were doing."

"You love us, don't you," Woody said with that big cheesy smile on his face.

"Awwwweee," Nigel said as he stretched out his arms, "come to papa"

"You put lay one hand on me, Nigel Townsend, I will drag you over to my place, pull your kidneys out through your ass and feed them to my dog and you know how much my dog loves to eat kidneys." Kate said in a rather loud voice. Nigel looked around at the group, smiled and then joined the other four friends as they smothered Kate in a huge group hug.

"Welcome to the family, Kate." He said.

About ten minutes later, Dr. McCourt came back into the waiting room.

"Dr. Macy is starting to stir a bit. His daughter says you all may join her in his room. She thinks the best medicine he could have is to wake up and see all of you there, but keep it brief. He still has a long road to recovery ahead of him." The group all got to their feet and followed Jordan to the hospital room. Abby sat in a chair by his bed, holding his hand. Jordan joined him at the other side. Nigel, Bug, Woody, Lily and Kate stood behind the end of his bed and waited. Less than a minute later, they all smiled when Garret Macy opened his eyes.

"Hi dad," Abby said, "I've been so worried about you." Tears glistened in both of their eyes as she rested her head next to her father.

"Abby…you...you're here," Garret said weakly. Abby nodded.

"Everyone's here, dad. We've all been here since you got brought in.

"You're all okay?" he asked, his voice a bit more steady.

"We're all fine, Garret. We all made it and you're going to make it too." Jordan told her friend.

"That's the best news I think I'll ever hear." Garret said. "I need all of you. I don't know what I would have done had any of you not made it off that mountain."

"Bug and I have a bit more good news for you," Lily said as she and Bug exchanged a smile. "Go ahead, Bug." She told him.

"Sure. I have asked Lily to marry me." He said but stopped and smiled.

"And?" Nigel asked, rather impatiently.

"And, I said yes." Lily answered as she put her head on Bug's shoulder. The group let out a cheer and hugged Bug and Lily.

"That's great news." Garret said. "You two both deserve to be happy. Now get over here so I can give you a hug."

"See," Woody said as he came over to Jordan's side and kneeled down next to her. "I told you everything would be fine." Jordan took his hand and kissed the back of it as she smiled and winked at Garret Macy. She knew then that everything would in fact be great from here on out.


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Garret Macy's condition continued to improve in the days and weeks that followed. Once he was released from the hospital, Abby moved in with him to take care of him. Kate took over as acting chief medical examiner with Nigel there to pester her every step of the way until Macy came back less than two months later.

Bug and Lily set their wedding date for New Years Eve, planning it so that they would be married at the stroke of midnight.

Max kept his word and told Nigel the happy news first, that he would be opening up another bar in Boston as he had every intention to sticking around to be a part of his daughter's life.

As for Jordan and Woody, they moved in together soon after the plane crash. On Jordan's birthday in September of that year, Woody took her on a dinner cruise around the Boston Harbor and as her gift, asked her to marry him, producing a diamond ring. Jordan accepted without hesitation. Never had she been so happy and so in love than she was when she was with Woody. A year later when she walked down that aisle, she kept true to her own style of doing things and had both father figures in her life, Max and Garret, on each side of her, giving her away. Woody stood up at the alter with his two best men, Nigel and Bug next to him. Lily naturally was the maid of honor, and Kate was another bridesmaid (imagine the look on Nigel's face when he saw her in a dress for the first time. Of course he was smart enough not to make fun of her, remembering her threat to feed his kidneys to her dog) with Madelyn making the most beautiful flower girl.

As Jordan walked down the aisle to join Woody, she thought back to the past several years when she came back to Boston. She ran away from LA to Boston to find herself, and ended up finding her father, best friends, and eventually a husband instead. Although Jordan at this time did not know that her dream of becoming a mother would become a reality in less than twelve months, one thing she did know was that life was good and she would never again have another reason to run. She was home.

**The End**


End file.
